


Can’t Pretend

by fierystupefy



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, game of thrones
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Love Triangles, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 06:12:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18255368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fierystupefy/pseuds/fierystupefy
Summary: In a world where there weren’t five kings fighting one another, there are marriages, alliances, which can bring more trouble than wars.Follow along Lady Margaery Tyrell when she joined the Baratheons to a Royal Progress to the North and her almost betrothal to Crown Prince Joffrey became...questionable.





	Can’t Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own characters, places or descriptions from A Song of Ice and Fire.  
> The credit to those goes to G.R.R. Martin.  
> All of my own original creations and characters belong to me

_ Highgarden _

     If the warm sun aching from behind her window coverings, or her serving maids quickly shuffling around her room did not wake her, then surely her years of lessons indoctrinated in her mind on how ladies, especially of her high standing, must be readily awakened before the sun had spread its warmth through all of the Reach. But as her grandmother told her mother after she commented that her mother in law took too long to prepare for breakfast,  “And who do you suppose write all of these instructional novels on how we women must properly behave? Men. I don’t presume that your husband needs to have his pair of bodies [1] or overgarments pulled tightly until there is nothing separating them from your skin. No, neither did his father. The Tyrell men may be blessed with the hair that I have given them, but don’t think that they need care for it like we do. No, I shall do as I please. What next? Shall you have Margaery wipe the drool off of Joffrey’s mouth the next time someone pays complete attention to him? I think not!”. So Margaery did what the Queen of Thorns said to do, she did as she pleased, she lay in bed and let the noises around her fade away, at least until her mother discreetly sent in a few handmaidens to wake her up and to help her dress. 

     She loves her mother, she truly does. But even after being married to Lord Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden, for over twenty-four years, Lady Alerie Hightower still clings to the customs in  _ Oldtown _ , much to her mother in law’s distaste. In  _ Oldtown _ , there was a certain in which the Hightowers needed to present themselves, as is expected for the family of noble and impeccable lineage that has been seated in the oldest city in  _ Westeros _ . But in  _ Highgarden _ , the heart of chivalry in the  _ Seven Kingdoms _ , the Tyrells are as outspoken and prideful as the Hightowers are epigrammatically careful about what they choose.  But the  _ Highgarden _ ruled underneath the Lady Olenna is anything but ignorant of these particulars. And many Tyrells, especially the ones birthed by Lady Alerie are quick to sense the likelihood of dissension between the two Ladies of  _ Highgarden _ . As notorious as the Queen of Thorns is for piercing people, Alerie speaks in such a beguiling way with an undertone that can even perplex Lady Olenna. 

     It is the warm air that gets Margaery to emerge from underneath her covers. The heat surrounding her from all fronts made her more drowsy, like always. Jumping out of bed and into a nice bath always seemed to work wonders for lethargic mornings. She knew that she would be greeted with a spread of warm goods for breakfast and a basket of golden roses. From a young age, Garlan would fawn over Margaery with flowers that he had just picked in the morning, golden roses being his favourite. Even though he knew how she found golden roses overvalued. Being brought up surrounded by golden rose sigils had lessened her appeal for the physical form of the rose. But Garlan only deemed it fair “Willas has one rose, I two, and Loras three. You are the most captivating of us all, you deserve hundreds of roses”.  

     Today, all three of her brothers were home and they would be able to lavich in each other’s companies like they did when they were children. Willas had returned from visiting their grandparents-- Lord Leyton Hightower and Lady Rhea Florent. Margaery had already heard several stories, all of which in some way included a not so veiled grandparental desire that the other Tyrells visit as well. Most possibly without Olenna, the last time Margaery’s grandparents had visited  _ Highgarden _ , Lady Olenna not so subtly scoffed at Margaery’s aunt, Lynesse’s failure of a marriage. Margaery knew that the mentions would be far less subtle and far more abrasive, a Hightower being a concubine of a merchant prince is precisely something that Olenna would take advantage of, much to her amusement. Loras had returned from  _ King’s Landing _ , where he had gallantly unhorsed all of the other riders, which filled Mace with pride. Margaery missed Loras very much, only a year apart and very close to one another. She knew that her brother’s stays at  _ King’s Landing _ had little to do with the many tourneys, but the gleam that he held, only brightened her smile when she ran to greet him two weeks previous. Her mother was so merry when her youngest son came back home that she did not mention a word about Margaery’s unladylike behaviour. 

     Today was the day that Garlan would be coming home and no amount of sleep could stop her from getting ready to see the brother she had not seen in nearly six months. Garlan had spent some time at  _ Storm’s End _ and then to Braavos, by the behest of Lord Petyr Baelish, the Master of Coin. While the Lannisters are the ones that were married to the Royal Family, they preferred to have other houses perform tasks that did not involve spreading their wealth for all to see. But Garlan, who always was a true Hightower and Tyrell, was always careful in choosing how to react but convinced others of his goodwill, which there truly needed no convincing, but the Lannisters were the Lannisters. And perhaps the Lannisters preferred to send Garlan since they did not need another skilled Tyrell swordsman to gain even more fame, while the Lannisters’ famed swordsman would forever stay underneath a while cloak. But Margaery had no care for any of that now, all three of her brothers would be home after being seperated for the past year and a half. Although, she suspected that she was rightful to assume that telling stories of what each of the siblings had been doing for the past year and a half would not be the topic in conversation. Ever since her grandmother had received a letter a week ago, she had been hushing orders to her son, and repeatedly reminding him that he kept on forgetting them. 

     “Aemma, could I get a bath drawn up before breakfast? Or would I be late for breakfast, I sure would like to spare ourselves from mother and grandmother arguing about the properties of arriving for breakfast.”

     “I think that I can get a quick bath drawn up. I have not seen Lady Alerie or Lady Olenna out of their rooms yet” Aemma said with a small smile. 

* * *

 

[1] This was a term used for corsets 

**Author's Note:**

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